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The students, perplexed by the question posed by a familiar face in costume, could only respond with a rather broad answer.
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Sam Reine of Winona is welcomed by sixth-graders Wednesday to the Winona Middle School Auditorium. Reine portrayed vaudeville entertainer Myrtle Huntley during a presentation by the Winona County Historical Society on the history of Winona.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
“A lot,” they called out.
Kevin Kearney, the Winona police community liaison officer who was impersonating Winona’s founder, gave a more precise answer.
“I’m 202 years old, kids,” he said.
Students at the middle school met Capt. Smith and several other historical Winona figures when actors portrayed them in a performance Wednesday by the Winona Historical Society called “History of Winona County in an Hour.”
Along with Capt. Smith, the students also met Grace Watkins King, the daughter of Watkins Inc. founder J.R. Watkins, and vaudeville entertainer Myrtle Huntley, played by Robin McBride and Sam Reine, respectively. Led by Historical Society assistant director Jennifer Weaver, the event was meant to give on overview of Winona’s history in preparation for citywide Capital for a Day celebrations scheduled for Friday.
“It’s impossible to do the history of Winona in an hour,” Weaver said.
The performance was part of Winona Week, a series of historical-based activities and courses the sixth-grade classes are studying to prepare for Capital for a Day. Students wrote poems about Winona, created a timeline of the town’s history and asked people who are older than 60 about what life was like in the area when they were kids.
Students also designed grocery bags, which will be given to shoppers at Midtown Foods on Friday.
The school will hold an open house Friday for parents to see the student-created projects. Students who participated in the historical performance said they enjoyed learning about their town’s history and were excited to show their parents what they’ve been working on.
“You get to see how things changed and what people used to do,” said sixth-grader Colton Swanson. “Plus, it’s neat to see who was famous.”
yarnivek wrote on May 15, 2008 4:17 PM: